Here’s Why You Should Get Unlocked: The World of Games

What do you get when you stick a bunch of celebrities in a room with a bunch of gaming nerds to talk about video games? One pretty awesome documentary!

Unlocked: The World of Video Games, Revealed follows 8 celebrities around to see how video games has influenced certain aspects of our society. Rather then bore you to death with facts and charts, Jeremy Snead opted to instead take you behind the scenes of how video games are made and how games are being used in hospitals to help heal patients, as an example.

Now I’m going to be frank and let you know upfront that I was granted a media pass to watch all the episodes before they were released to the public. I haven’t been able to see them all yet, so I can only report on what I’ve learned so far. I’ll update this article as I finish the remaining episodes. I’m also going to see about getting an interview with the director as well, so if you have any questions you want me to be sure to ask him, let me know in the comments!

So far, I’m very impressed with this documentary. If you want an honest review of video games and the positive effects it is having on society, this series delivers. I’m tempted to just buy a copy and give it to my parents for a Christmas gift so that they can “finally see the light” when it comes to video games. I’ve talked and argued with them at length on the validity of video games and the importance it has in my life. Had this documentary come out years ago, it would have definitely eased the stress levels in the household because they would finally understand gaming for what it truly is, the other day they got mad because I got the best gaming monitor right now, but who wouldn’t want to get it? But don’t worry, my parents understand alot more now about gaming but still stress the balance between it and enjoying life “offline”.

Unlocked wanted to add some spice by pulling in some BIG name celebrities. Sean Astin; of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Michael Rooker; of The Walking Dead series, Penn Jillette; of Penn & Teller, William Shatner; of Star Trek, and so many more are part of the lineup. Each actor looks at a different area of gaming, such as its influence in helping hospital patients heal and explosive growth of competitive video gaming, also known as esports. It seems to me that as each actor tackles their respective area, they come to a better understanding of just how transformative gaming can be and the influence it can have on our culture, for both good and bad. The media in some ways has negatively influenced our view on video games, all because one nutjob went for a joyride in a stolen car and caused a horrible accident. What Unlocked wants to show is that even though bad things happen, and should be dealt with in the correct way, it should by no means cut off the flow of creativity and the good things that can come from video games.

If you’ve watched the trailer and read this far in the article, I think it is safe to say that you are probably interested in this documentary. Never fear, I have two final things to share with you.

1: Unlocked is now available to order on-demand! (Released December 15, 2016)